‘Good thing Tori was fast’

CHSâï¿½ï¿½graduate recalls marathon tragedy

Jason Ferguson

Published: Thursday, May 2nd, 2013

Tori Vette and Ryan Bissell took in the first Boston Bruins game at TD Garden in Boston after the bombing of the Boston Marathon. Bissell said the crowd did the most moving rendition of the national anthem prior to the game that they had ever heard.

Tori Vette and Ryan Bissell took in the first Boston Bruins game at TD Garden in Boston after the bombing of the Boston Marathon. Bissell said the crowd did the most moving rendition of the national anthem prior to the game that they had ever heard.

Three hours, 17 minutes and 26 seconds after beginning the Boston Marathon, Tori Vette crossed the finish line. Waiting for her at the family gathering area was her boyfriend, Ryan Bissell.

Bissell, 30, a Custer High School Class of 2000 graduate, met Vette in Spearfish, where the couple lives. After the race, he caught up to her at the family area past the finish line and had a big surprise for her.

Bissell congratulated his girlfriend, gave her a hug and then dropped to one knee and asked for her hand in marriage. She said yes. What should normally be one of the happiest days in both their lives was about to be marred by sadness.

At around 4:08 p.m., roughly 45 minutes after Vette had crossed the finish line, the first of two bombs that rocked the marathon, killing three people and injuring hundreds, exploded. Bissell and Vette were at their hotel a block and a half away. Vette had just finished her shower and the two were getting ready to hit the town.

Bissell heard the explosion—but didn’t believe it to be a bomb going off.

“As I heard it, I assumed it was some street traffic or a delivery truck that was closer,”âï¿½ï¿½he said.

As the two exited their hotel and got onto the street, they heard sirens wailing. People were crying and running. Still, Bissell had not completely pieced things together.

The couple walked into a restaurant to get something to eat. The restaurant was packed, but dead silent. All eyes were fixed on TVs in the restaurant that were breaking the news. Suddenly, everything they had seen and heard began to make sense.

Three hours, 17 minutes and 26 seconds after beginning the Boston Marathon, Tori Vette crossed the finish line. Waiting for her at the family gathering area was her boyfriend, Ryan Bissell.

Bissell, 30, a Custer High School Class of 2000 graduate, met Vette in Spearfish, where the couple lives. After the race, he caught up to her at the family area past the finish line and had a big surprise for her.

Bissell congratulated his girlfriend, gave her a hug and then dropped to one knee and asked for her hand in marriage. She said yes. What should normally be one of the happiest days in both their lives was about to be marred by sadness.

At around 4:08 p.m., roughly 45 minutes after Vette had crossed the finish line, the first of two bombs that rocked the marathon, killing three people and injuring hundreds, exploded. Bissell and Vette were at their hotel a block and a half away. Vette had just finished her shower and the two were getting ready to hit the town.

Bissell heard the explosion—but didn’t believe it to be a bomb going off.

“As I heard it, I assumed it was some street traffic or a delivery truck that was closer,”âï¿½ï¿½he said.

As the two exited their hotel and got onto the street, they heard sirens wailing. People were crying and running. Still, Bissell had not completely pieced things together.

The couple walked into a restaurant to get something to eat. The restaurant was packed, but dead silent. All eyes were fixed on TVs in the restaurant that were breaking the news. Suddenly, everything they had seen and heard began to make sense.

Available only in the print version of the Custer County Chronicle. To subscribe, call 605-673-2217.